The futuristic India in Ian McDonald’s River of Gods would be marvelous enough with its technological society, one where the sentience of artificial intelligence is limited by a law called the Hamilton Acts; where illegal software houses circumvent the law; where a government agency known as The Ministry “excommunicates” rogue AIs from this world; where virtual reality is the order of the day; where popular soap operas feature computer-generated characters played by computer-generated actors; where advanced medical procedures can turn you into a genderless “nute” or genetic engineering can give you a disease free, slow-aging Brahmin child; where power is generated underneath sidewalks that harness the energy of footsteps ; where even greater amounts of energy can be realized from the potential difference between two universes that exist at different ground states; and where an alien artifact is found in space that holds untold mysteries.

But River of Gods goes one step further, adding a whole other layer of enjoyment in the process, through the portrayal of Indian culture. It permeates everyone and everything, bringing forth interesting concepts and vivid imagery that give it a distinct mood and flavor. India’s caste system remains but now includes the Brahmin, a group of people genetically-bred to be disease free, whose long life gives them an extended period of youthful appearance. The culture’s many Gods are also prevalent in the story. For the culturally-uninitiated (like myself) there is a handy glossary included that defines many Hindi terms. However, the novel is so steeped in culture (and wonderfully so) that the glossary is woefully incomplete. Many of the words this Average Westerner looked up were not included. Eventually, I stopped using it. Needless to say, those who know Indian culture and especially Hindi will find a whole other level of enjoyment that escaped me, as evidenced by the light bulbs that went on when I asked a Hindi-speaking friend to translate words and section titles.

Even so, what is left behind was immensely entertaining. The story follows several characters through a time of political and environmental change in India. A years-long drought has pushed the region of Bharat towards war with neighboring Awadh. The Prime Minister’s secretary, Shaheen Badoor Khan, is pivotal in maintaining victory for Bharat while trying to simultaneously neutralize the impending government takeover by the people’s prophet, N.K. Jivanjee. Unfortunately for Khan, he has a “perverse” predilection for nutes, social outcasts because they are different by choice. One nute, Tal, is a set designer on the nationwide soap opera sensation Town & Country, where CGI characters are played by CGI actors. Reporter Najia Askarzada gets to interview the soap’s low-level AI stars but eventually becomes embroiled in national conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nandha is a Krishna Cop with the Ministry, sworn to eliminate any AIs that rise to a certain level of intelligence while utilizing his own AIs (named after Gods) to capture the rogues. Deeply involved in his work, Nandha fails to realize his wife Parvati forms a questionable relationship with her gardener.

Vishram Ray, formerly a failing comedian, is bequeathed a part of his father’s lucrative power company. Their research and development division has found a way to harness energy from other universes using different ground state energy levels to generate power with no cost.

Thomas Lull is a dropout from society, but his past skills are needed by scientist Lisa Durnau as she is enlisted by NASA to explore the strange alien artifact known as the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle is located at the heart of an asteroid that suspiciously keeps missing a collision with Earth. Lull and Lisa meet up with the mysterious Aj, another mystery as she shows signs of having paranormal powers.

Lastly, there’s Shiv; a street thug and murderer who, driven by debt and fear of loan-shark-controlled robotic debt collectors, is being manipulated by powers far beyond his understanding.

These many plotlines are kept separate for a large part of the book’s beginning, something I found to be somewhat disconcerting as I wondered how story lines would intersect. What can I say? I’m an impatient reader. When they did start intersecting, that bewilderment disappeared. It paid off being persistent as McDonald manages to not only successfully juggle these storylines, but does so in a way that keeps you immersed within them.

The language of the novel is beautifully crafted and is infused with symbolism, mostly by way of the Gods. There is also a healthy dose of thought-provoking ideas in the areas of sentience, reality and what it means to be human. The Singularity, a currently popular sf theme which is in danger of showing its age in the genre, also makes an appearance. River of Gods deftly circumvents the overexposure issue by not concentrating on life after the Singularity so much as the way we might get there. (Sorry, can’t say more without spoilers.) Suffice it to say that the book holds many, many wonders. And, dare I say, between the writing style and the layers of story construction, the book gives the impression of being what one might call a “Literary” novel.

When River of Gods was released last year in the UK, it received much notice. It was the winner of the 2005 British Science Fiction Association Awards and nominated for the 2005 Hugo, Clarke and Locus awards. I went in with some trepidation at the prospect of not liking yet another acclaimed book. I needn’t have worried. River of Gods is a hugely enjoyable book on any number of levels.

7 Comments on REVIEW: River of Gods by Ian McDonald

I loved the start of it, don’t remember it being slow, I was too busy thinking “how many plots are there?”, and wondering if I’d ever be able to keep track of them all. Stretched my brain a bit which I liked

From what I’ve seen, there’s been a fair amount of promotion for this book (for the North American publication), and I’ve been real curious about it. Thanks for the review, it’s definately on my “buy list” now.

I just finished this and I’d give it 4 1/2 stars too. Unlike John, I didn’t find the opening to be slow. I felt it was akin to the opening acts of, say, Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn series. I did think the intersection of the story lines was too drawn out, with an abrupt switch to the frenetic pace of the closing acts. Jarring.

Arrrr! There be spoilers here! Ye’ve been warned! Arrr!

I also thought the AI’s abandonment of Aj to be very abrupt. Maybe I missed the part where they finally decided that trying to live with humanity wasn’t workable. I did like the whole pocket universe thing at the end, especially where they are operating at the level where they can ‘compute the universe’. Very cool.

One last thing. What exactly was the Tabernacle? Was it from a future Earth?

Arrrr! No more spoilers here!

John, did I miss the part about the Singularity being involved? I don’t recall anything pointing toward one.

I also thoght the abandonment of Aj to be abrupt, and the singularity bit kind of stuck out for me. It seemed obvious that the two pages of uninterrupted dialogue was there for McDonald to vent and express his thoughts on the singularity. But I still liked it. I figure it stuck out ’cause I was expecting it to be mentioned. And the character McDonald chose to express his opinion on it was perfect.

Novel is a slow start indeed and full of Hindi words including many slangs and expletives.I wonder how an international readership enjoys the content.But I must appreciate the effort and dedication through which the author has reached a level of commendable understanding of the pathos and culture of a foreign country which find a vivid and interesting description in the book.Authors’ understanding of Indian philosophy and Hindu gods is also praiseworthy.Varanasi of 2047 still retains some of its classical aroma in the novel-its really very soothing.My good wishes!